What is creativity and how to discover it in yourself

The source of my recommendations is a documentary by German filmmaker Hermann Waske, who conducted a massive thirty-year study. During this time, he traveled the world, interacted with prominent contemporaries and asked them one question: «Why are you creative?»

As a result of this research, a film was born that included 101 interviews with such eminent personalities as David Bowie, Stephen Hawking, Marina Abramovich, Bjork, Yoko Ono, Vivienne Westwood, Nelson Mandela, the Dalai Lama and others.

What is true creativity and how does it differ from imaginary? How does creativity affect the history, politics and development of the world as a whole and for each person individually?

So, 13 points that reveal the essence of creativity.

1. Everyone is creative

Pablo Picasso said: “Every child is an artist. The difficulty is to remain an artist beyond childhood.” The same can be said about creativity. All people are creative, and then «the prose of life fits in.»

Marjan Satrapi, the creator of comics, admits that in her profession she does everything that she did as a child. She was the only child in the family, so she had to play with herself. Now, despite the fact that she has long become an adult, she can stand for hours in front of the mirror, talking to the reflection.

Creativity, on the one hand, is a talent, on the other, a great work. It’s not enough to be creative by nature. American tennis player Billy King believes that «you have to work hard.» Hadid Zaha, an architect and designer who in 2004 became the first woman in history to be awarded the Pritzker Prize, said: “Creativity is work. You have to develop the ability to come up with something really new. To do this, you need to think a lot.”

2. Creativity is a by-product of rigidity and control

People who experienced pressure and strict control from their parents in childhood, adults try to realize their inner protest through creativity and creativity. They draw inspiration from freedom from these limitations.

So it was with the artist Marina Abramović. Her mother almost crushed her head with a crystal ashtray when she put the first painting on public display. Remembering this incident, Marina Abromovich said that she was grateful for such an upbringing, because without it she would not have discovered her creativity.

3. Nothing awakens creativity like boredom and dullness of being.

Such a paradox is often encountered: inconspicuous people working as clerks and ordinary employees, in their free time, manifest themselves as completely outstanding personalities. They write poetry, prose, music, are engaged in creativity.

Bureaucracy, boring and monotonous work give rise to creativity. Perhaps this is because the brain suffers from monotonous activities and boredom, it needs new experiences. And if there is nowhere to get them, then you need to invent them yourself.

For example, the German writer Franz Kafka created a new theory of jurisprudence in several treatises in his spare minutes from the main boring legal practice.

Mediocrity and routine make a person cling to unremarkable things, noticing strange and unusual patterns in them.

Einstein loved to sail on a yacht. Even when the weather was not conducive to skiing, there was no wind and all yachting partners were sitting in the bar, he went to sea. And I was looking for something special in this «bad weather». Yes, he did not become a yachting champion, but other great knowledge was revealed to him thanks to this quality — the ability to find the unusual in everyday life.

4. Creativity in connection

Children born to two representatives of different cultures are more likely to be creative. This is due to the fact that they have to bring together various norms and rules.

People who travel a lot and live in different countries for a long time also have to be creative, adapt to new things, keeping in mind what they have already learned.

To develop creativity, use elements that do not match each other and look for options for how they could look together. One architect said: «I will twist two objects in my hands, look at them for so long until I figure out how they can be connected together.»

5. Creativity comes from a void that needs to be filled.

The emptiness that reigns in the soul, the emptiness in the spheres of life, the emptiness in emotions leads to a burning desire to fill it. A simple test: when you have a blank white sheet in front of you, what do you want to do? A creative person cannot stand the sight of a blank slate.

6. Communication with other people is an important condition for creativity.

Someone needs constant communication for the creative process, someone needs to go to a desert island and retire with their thoughts and ideas. But, one way or another, creativity and, as a result, a creative product arise under the influence of the experience of relationships and contact with people.

New ideas come from relationships and communication. No wonder they came up with a saying: «Steal like an artist.» This means imitate, giving birth to something new, but do not blindly copy what already exists. Many creative people talk about the need to work with other people to create something new.

7. Creativity is multitasking

Information overload promotes creativity. The head of a creative person is never empty. It always accumulates and swarms thoughts and ideas. For example, Philippe Starck, a designer, leads 200 projects at the same time. He compares this process to layers of magma, which, layering on top of each other, eventually acquire a specific solidified shape.

8. 1+1=3

Creativity is a different angle. When the dog does not see something, it bends its head and looks sideways. Creativity lies in the ability to look at things differently. Freud said: until you turn the truth upside down, you will not see the gleam of truth.

To develop creativity in yourself, it is important to learn to question everything that you see and hear, to learn to turn even obvious things upside down. Pull yourself out of the shell.

9. Creativity is about boldly going beyond.

Think outside the box. Do what others don’t dare. Creativity starts beyond the boundaries you have been given.

But by allowing yourself to go beyond, you get new restrictions. The ones you set up for yourself, taking full responsibility for your creativity. What is your creativity? What value? Merlin Manson compares his creativity to a tornado that he himself launches and then restrains and controls it himself in order to prevent it from growing to destructive proportions.

10. Creativity is hypnosis

This is a consequence of the previous point. True creativity captivates people, masses, crowds. The hypnotic component of creativity is the weapon of revolution. Creativity can change the mind of another person. And by changing consciousness, it will not be difficult to change reality. It is important to understand what creativity serves, what goals and what values, and consciously take responsibility for this.

11. Creativity as a way to adapt desires

One director said: «If I had realized all 13 murders from my films, I would have been roasted in the electric chair a long time ago.»

Creativity allows us to create our own worlds in which we have absolute power, we set our own rules and boundaries.

It is often important to get away from reality into creativity in order to survive trauma, pain, or something that is scary to show in its pure, undisguised form to the outside world. Creativity saves a person from his own «demons».

12. Creativity is about being understood.

In fact, everyone wants to be understood. Both on the everyday level and on the creative level. Designer Yamamoto Yoji considers the desire to be understood the main condition of his work.

Creativity that exists without understanding and recognition fades very quickly.

13. Creatoholic — a person who is constantly drawn to the creative process

Many people compare creativity to a virus that you sometimes want to get rid of. Man does not control the emergence of ideas. They just pop up in my head and need to come out. Creative people are masochists to some extent, because creativity does not always paint life in joyful colors. Tiredness and the inability to stop and take a breather when necessary are exhausting.

They say about the flow of inspiration like this: “Something inside makes me engage in creativity, otherwise I don’t know how I would endure this life”, “The state when you cannot help but do”, “I am afraid that thoughts and ideas will stop visiting me so I never stop. The Creator cannot take a break, he must create. Creativity is an eternal race, without which a person cannot live.

Inventing new things, never repeating yourself, thinking a lot, always writing down ideas, going beyond, clearly understanding the value of your creativity, expressing yourself in order to be understood — all this is the basis of creativity. But, perhaps, the most important motive to be creative sounds like this: “I am who I am, and I don’t want to be different.”